VIOLENT crime in London fell by more than a quarter during lockdown, figures show.
Police in the capital have hailed last year’s spring restrictions for helping to curb gang activity.
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Overall, violence fell by 27 per cent, with murders down 16 per cent from 150 in 2019 to 126 last year.
There were 42 per cent fewer teenagers killed in 2020 than in the previous 12 months.
Stabbings were down by 25 per cent from 3,433 to 2,588.
And robberies went down by a third, while GBH offences fell by almost a fifth.
However, Covid lockdowns were blamed for a rise in domestic murders, up to 22 from 16, with the number of child victims rising from seven to 12.
And shootings went up by eight per cent to 288 last year.
After the lockdown eased violent crime rose to higher levels than before the pandemic.
The Met Police blamed the temporary rise on more people on the streets and gang tensions spilling off social media.
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Officers arrested almost 4,000 suspected violent criminals last year and seized 930 weapons in targeted raids.
A review is being carried out into the domestic killings of children.
Met Commander Dave McLaren said: “It isn’t a massive leap of faith to say that lockdown has an impact on all of us in terms of our wellbeing.”
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